“I don’t want to go back to camp,” Timmu shouted, as he rode at Sargon’s side. “We should stay with the warriors.”
“Keep quiet and ride!” Sargon focused his attention on guiding his horse, the only thing now keeping an arrow from finding his back.
They rode hard, pushing the horses to stay ahead of their pursuers. Once the distance between them shrank to less than a quarter mile. But by the time darkness approached, the superior horses of the Ur Nammu had lengthened the lead to nearly two miles. Sargon, still riding at the rear of Chinua’s men, kept glancing behind, and he was the first to see that the enemy had finally given up.
“Chinua! They’ve stopped!”
The Ur Nammu commander gave the order to rest, and he turned his mount around so that he sat beside Sargon, facing west. He stared for a long time at the tiny figures, more visible by the shadows they cast as the sun set.
“They had to ride hard to reach. . what was the man’s name?”
“Khnan. He said his name was Khnan from the city of Carchemish.”
Jennat and Skala moved their horses beside their leader.
“I’ve never heard of such a place.” Chinua sounded dubious.
“I have,” Sargon answered. “It is a city at the end of the northern most trade routes, so far away that many do not even believe it exists. But the traders in Akkad assured my parents that it is indeed real.”
“It is real enough now,” Chinua said. “Jennat, how is your arm?”
“Just a scratch. I can still fight.”
“Good. Take Sargon, Timmu, and Rutba with you when you ride for our camp. Sargon can help explain to Subutai. .”
“No. I’m staying with you.” Sargon resented the idea that Makko could stay with the warriors while he could not.
Skala muttered something under his breath. Sargon caught the words ‘horse boy’ but little else. The warrior clearly didn’t approve of Sargon taking part in any discussions of the scouting party’s leaders.
“You do not need to risk your life,” Chinua said. “This is not your fight. And you can help Jennat explain what these invaders said.”
“It is my fight,” Sargon said. “They tried to kill me.” He might have changed his mind and gone along with Chinua’s order, but the frown on Skala’s face only made Sargon more stubborn. “I mentioned Akkad to Khnan, and he said that my father’s lands would also be destroyed. So now it is my fight as much as yours.”
“Much as I would like him with me,” Jennat said, “perhaps you should keep him with you. He may be of help, and he’s young and foolish enough to be brave in the face of his enemies. He did well enough against Khnan.”
All Sargon had done was cling to his horse’s back. The animal deserved the credit for knocking the second bowman down. He’d forgotten all about his knife.
Chinua took a deep breath, and let it out. “You can stay. But now we ride. We still have plenty of ground to cover.”
They started moving eastward again. This time they alternated between a trot and a fast walk. Sargon realized they had to keep the horses rested. If one of the horses faltered, the warrior would take the mount of one of the horse boys, leaving that unfortunate youth to fend for himself. In this case, that most likely meant capture and death.
The fall of night brought little relief. Chinua halted briefly to feed the horses, ordering that the last of the grain be given to them now. The warriors, too, wolfed down their food, eating as much as they could hold. The less they had to carry, the faster they could travel.
That attended to, the warriors huddled in a close packed circle. Chinua had ordered the horse boys to keep watch and guard the horses, but told Sargon to stay.
“Tell me everything that was said,” Chinua said. “Everything.”
Sargon went through the long talk, explaining how he translated the words, and adding what he thought of Khnan’s reaction. A few raised their eyebrows when Sargon told of Akkad, but Chinua nodded. “That was good. Let them think that we are strong. The closer they come to the lands of Akkad, the more fearful they will become.”
When Sargon finished, a few asked questions, but then everyone looked to Chinua.
“We will walk our horses through most of the night. In the morning, we will continue northeast. The enemy will send riders after us, at least for another day, or until they are satisfied that we are far away and running back to our camps. As soon as that happens, Jennat and the horse boys will break off and return as soon as possible to Subutai. We will swing to the north, and attack their camp tomorrow night. A raid on their horses should teach them a lesson.”
Sargon had counted at least seventy or eighty riders in the party that pursued them, and wondered how Chinua could dare to attack so many. Or how they expected to get away if they did manage a successful attack. But none of the warriors showed the least concern. All of them had taken the insult when Sargon repeated Khnan’s words. None wanted to return to Subutai’s camp without striking some kind of blow.
“Then it is settled,” Chinua said, glancing around the circle. “We will start walking now, and keep it up until at least midnight.”
The warriors rose to fetch their horses.
“Sargon, stay.” Chinua moved beside him. With the others gone, they could speak in private. “If you wish to return to the camp tomorrow with Jennat, no one will think less of you. And I’m sure that after this, Subutai will release you from the remaining days of your training. You would be free to go home, or anywhere that you choose.”
“I understand.”
He did. Chinua was right. None of the warriors would think less of him. They took it as a fact that no dirt eater could show as much bravery, or ride and fight as well as they could. Sargon remembered Skala’s eyes on him, and the memory hardened Sargon’s resolve. He intended to show that big ox that the men of Akkad could fight as well as any barbarian.
23
The middle of the night arrived before Chinua called a halt. Glancing around, Sargon saw nothing but the same terrain he’d seen all day — rocks and sand, with scattered clumps of grass. Presumably Chinua wanted to stop where the horses could graze. They hadn’t come across any water, so the troop faced another dry camp.
By then Sargon felt almost weary enough to change his mind and ask Chinua to let him ride for Subutai’s camp. Despite all his recent weapons training and horse riding, nothing had prepared him for a long walk through the darkness while leading a horse. Traveling on foot, it seemed, was one skill that held little interest for the Ur Nammu, especially when it required them to walk their horses through half the night.
Nevertheless, it had to be done. And while Sargon knew the others felt as worn out, none of the warriors complained. The walking was exhausting enough, but each man had to walk ahead of his horse and lead the animal, which meant that you had to keep your eyes moving and watch every step.
The moon had risen early, but dark clouds obscured what little light it cast. Luckily, none of the horses stepped into a hole or bruised a knee, though half the warriors went down more than once, cursing the darkness or the occasional slippery smoothness of some stone underfoot.
Even after they stopped for the night, Sargon still had to care for his horse, and keep the animal safe and close at hand. Sentries took turns guarding their position until dawn, and Sargon breathed a sigh of relief when that duty fell to others. He wrapped himself in the sweaty horse blanket and fell asleep beneath the chilly stars.
When the morning sun lifted above the horizon, a footsore and weary band of warriors took stock of their situation. But nothing showed on the horizon, and Sargon guessed that the soldiers of Carchemish remained far behind.
That could change at any moment, so Chinua gave the orders and they started walking and leading the horses once again. Only when the sun pushed itself well above the horizon, and the muscles of both man and beast had stretched themselves out, did they mount and start riding, always going to the northeast. Between riding and walking, they covered over twenty miles before midday.